EAST LIVERPOOL – OhioRISE got the word out to Columbiana County families preparing for the new school year that resources are readily available for young people with unique needs.
Care Coordinator Supervisor Ashley Arter, who operates in Columbiana, Stark and Tuscarawas Counties, joined other agencies in a back to school bash Aug. 6 at the First Church of the Nazarene, providing supplies and information for families to ensure their kiddos start the school year off on the right foot.
Jefferson County Educational Service Center (JCESC) OhioRISE is a Medicaid managed care program for children and youth with complex behavioral health and multisystem needs in Columbiana, Belmont, Carroll, Harrison, Jefferson, Monroe, Stark and Tuscarawas Counties and operated by the Jefferson County Educational Service Center. OhioRISE was formed to coordinate resources and put families in touch with what is available.
The Community Action Agency of Columbiana County organized the gathering. Jill Hendrickson, director of behavioral health at CAA Health Center, said they expected families from East Liverpool City Schools, Beaver Local and Wellsville Local. She said OhioRISE was a natural invite. The CAA works closely with OhioRISE and has seen the difference they make.
“We have clients that are involved with OhioRISE and utilize their services, and we hear very good things about them,” she said. “We were glad that they were able to come.”
The gathering saw a steady stream of families, several of whom had questions for Arter about OhioRISE and what the program could offer.
“It was a great event. We were able to distribute a lot of information and let a lot of people know that we’re out here that didn’t know that OhioRISE was around before, and also able to make a couple new connections,” Arter said.
“Here in Columbiana County I think we’re doing a really great job of partnering with other community agencies that serve our youth and families,” she said. “OhioRISE over the last years has really built those relationships up strong.”
Arter said the back-to-school turnout was a perfect opportunity to introduce OhioRISE to families with children who might benefit from added resources.
“Our schools are one of our strongest partners as far as serving youth and families, so once we’re back in school we do see an uptick in referrals and a great chance to make additional connections.”
Care coordinators are familiar with the areas where they work and know their families’ concerns.
“In this county especially, one of our biggest needs is transportation, so our care coordinators stay up-to-date on all the options for transportation resources, whether that be CARTS (Community Action Rural Transport System) or Medicaid managed care plans. We need to make sure our kiddos are getting the mental health services they need, like counseling, so we make sure to link people to those services.”
Arter has seen rewarding progress among young people during the years OhioRISE has been active. Care coordinators consider the whole child. Young people benefit from connections such as membership in the YMCA and participation in sporting events, and new friendships with their peers that result.
“We work with youth across all ages from birth up until the age of 21, and one of the great things we try to do is get our youth integrated into the community to build those relationships, because relationships are the biggest impact on positive mental health outcomes.”
Arter also took the opportunity to strengthen OhioRISE’s partnerships with other agencies. Those long-standing relationships are key to OhioRISE’s “wraparound” approach of coordinating with service providers.
She spoke with Head Start representatives about the progress they and OhioRISE have made after helping a family for a little longer than a year.
“They’re working with one of our coordinators with a family that we’ve really, truly done the wraparound process with. We have Head Start, we have Community Action, we have Akron Children’s Hospital, we have CARTS helping with transportation, we have the Board of DD helping in the household, and they’ve also linked in neighbors to help support this family, so that’s really what OhioRISE care coordination can do. It can bring all those people to the table to help find creative solutions,” she said.
“We’ve seen better health outcomes, fewer behavioral issues in the kiddos and better school attendance.”
The family has received help in managing their health issues.
“They were able to get connected with services through Akron Children’s and through their Medicaid managed care plan that our coordinator linked them to,” she said. “Without information from their coordinator, they might not have found those resources.”
Head Start Family Advocate Kaela Champ said OhioRISE has been an invaluable partner. Along with assisting in everyday needs such as transportation and child care, Champ commended a care coordinator who went the extra mile and helped one family secure a trampoline.
“She made Christmas miracles happen when she didn’t have to, so they go above and beyond for our communities,” she said. “They’re very essential.”
Pastor Matt Llewellyn’s First Nazarene Church was happy to open the parking lot. He also saw value in service providers like OhioRISE.
“We just want to be a support,” he said. “We take their information, we put it in our church as well.”
One grandfather heard about OhioRISE from news releases and asked about resources the program might have for his grandson.
A mother was also interested in the mental health resources OhioRISE could provide.
“We don’t get a whole lot of services,” she said. “If we could get more services, more funding for the services, it would be amazing.”
Another woman had been a foster parent for years and was very appreciative of what she heard. She said she would have welcomed OhioRISE’s services and wraparound method.
“I had a lot of kids who needed extra help,” she said. “I definitely would’ve used them when I could have used the extra help.”
To learn more about OhioRISE, call 740-792-4011, email ohiorise.info@jcesc.org or visit OhioRISE online at https://www.jcesc.k12.oh.us/CareManagementEntity.aspx.
